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Connelly growled with frustration. “You are so goddamn stubborn.”
Veronica glared at him, her eyes flashing with anger. “And you’re so goddamn pushy. Why can’t you just let me be?”
“Because I care about you, damn it,” he said, his voice rising. “I’ve always cared about you, even when you were pushing me away. And I’m not going to stop caring about you now, just because you don’t want to deal with your shit.”
Anger surged at his words. She was tired of people telling her what she needed to do, of people who thought they knew what was best for her. She slammed the paper bag into the trash can, then turned back to face Connelly.
“You know what? Maybe I am stubborn. Maybe I don’t want to talk about it. Maybe I don’t want to deal with it. But that’s my choice, and you need to respect that.”
She watched as his expression shifted from frustration to something else entirely. But before she could decipher what it was, he closed the distance between them and grabbed her wrists, pinning them above her head against the wall.
Her heart thundered in her chest. Fear and arousal blended together in a confusing mix. She tried to pull away, but he held her firmly in place.
“You can’t keep hiding forever,” he said, his voice low and rough. “You’re stronger than this.”
Veronica’s breath hitched as Connelly leaned in, his lips brushing against her ear. “Let me help you.”
She should have fought him off, should have screamed for him to stop. But something inside her craved this kind of attention. It had been so long since anyone had touched her like this. Not since before the attack.
Her body responded before she could even process the thought, arching into his touch. He pulled back slightly, his eyes locked on hers as he searched for any sign of resistance. When he found none, he lowered his head and kissed her.
It was a bruising, desperate kiss, filled with all the pent-up emotions they’d both been holding back. Veronica’s body melted into his, her hands tangling in his hair as she deepened the kiss, wanting more.
But as he began to kiss her more fiercely, the familiar wave of panic washed over her, and she pushed him away.
“No,” she said, her voice shaking. “Stop. I can’t do this.”
Connelly pulled away, his eyes dark with desire and regret. “Fuck,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
She slipped past him and retreated to the living room, needing to put as much distance between them as her little cabin would allow. “You need to go.”
“Vee—”
He reached for her, and she flinched back. “Go! I don’t want you here.”
He stared at her for a long moment, then swore under his breath. “I’m sorry,” he murmured and walked out of the house.
Veronica didn’t move until she heard the front door shut, then rushed to it to make sure all the locks were engaged. She leaned her forehead against the wood and exhaled a sob.
Why had he done that?
And why had it turned her on before the panic took control?
This was Connelly. She grew up an only child, but he was around for so much of her childhood he was like an honorary brother. She’d never seen him as anything else.
But he had kissed her.
And, for a split second, she had wanted it.
Now their friendship was irrevocably changed. They could never go back to the way things had been before.
She touched her lips and sank down the door until her butt hit the floor. The dogs came rushing over. Rebel licked at her tears. Alfie jumped into her lap. She pulled them both in for a hug. “I think I just lost him for good.”
chapter fourteen
As Ash had promised, a deputy car sat in front of Veronica’s house, just out of sight of her front door. That made Connelly feel better about leaving her, even if it meant he was about to catch hell from the sheriff for continuing to sleep there.
After she’d kicked him out for the kiss—he still couldn’t fucking believe he’d done that—he’d walked home to retrieve his sleeping bag, then waited until he was sure she was asleep before planting himself on her porch for the night. He hadn’t slept much. The creeping feeling of being watched was worse. And he still had at least a week before he was able to pick up his gun.
